The Steinbach Pistons beat the Swan Valley Stampeders 3-2 in double OT in game 3 of the MJHL semi-finals.
The Stampeders opened the scoring at the 16:07 mark of the first period. Darius Makse drove the net with Wasik making the original save, but Jakob Jones got the loose puck and wrapped it around the net, banking it off Makse and past Wasik to make it 1-0.
Just over five minutes into the second period, Swan Valley would extend their lead to 2-0. Noah Wilson entered the Pistons zone and found a trailing Alex Walicki who snuck it between the arm of Wasik and into the back of the net.
Steinbach would get on the board and cut the lead in half at the 9:34 mark of the second period. Hunter Degelman won the draw back to Ethan Johnson who put it on net through traffic and past Kobe Grant to make it 2-1.
To this point in the game, both teams have had their moments with the Stampeders seemingly having a slight edge over the Steinbach Pistons.
The script would flip going into the third period with Steinbach putting on the pressure. The Pistons would outshoot the Stampeders 18-6 in the third, pushing offence and trying to find that equalizing goal.
Late in the third period, Swan Valley would take two penalties 50-seconds apart to give the Pistons a short 5 on 3 powerplay. Steinbach would not capitalize on the two-man advantage, but they would cash in on the 5 on 4 powerplay. Langley Kruggel cycled the puck to Ty Paisley at the point who then put it towards the net with Dawson Milliken redirecting it in the high slot and tying the game up 2-2.
Steinbach would take a penalty of their own with just over two minutes remaining but would manage to kill it off. Neither team could find the go-ahead goal in the final four minutes and the game would head to overtime for a second time this series.
The first overtime period saw some back and forth play but neither team generated much, with the goalies having good rebound control and swallowing up all pucks sent their way.
The second overtime period was a different story. Steinbach controlled much of the play, establishing great zone time, and stopping all Stampeder breakouts.
Steinbach would establish good offensive pressure midway through the second overtime period with Paisley almost scoring from the right faceoff dot, but he rung it off the post. Steinbach would continue to cycle the puck and generate scoring chances. Paisley tried to find Cote with a backdoor feed but it bounced off his skate and Milliken picked it up, backhanding it on net to a screened Kobe Grant and into the net to secure the 3-2 double overtime win.